Introduction

Several years ago one of the young earth creation ministries wrote an article
about how the author thought the earth looked young. At the time I thought it was pretty
non-persuasive. As a youth, I can recall always thinking that the earth
looked really old to me. Even though I grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, we
did lots of hiking and traveling throughout the mountains and national parks of
the Western States. Living in the shadows of the 10,000 foot high San Gabriel
Mountains, they didn't look young to me. When I finally got back to the East
Coast, what impressed me was how rounded and eroded the Appalachian Mountains
looked compared to the San Gabriels. I thought they must be really old. Turns
out they are. Yes, they look old. However, some recent trips have really
impressed me about how the earth looks really old. Hence, I have finally taken
the time to write this page.

Fault lines

Most people who have ever hiked in a geologically active region (like
California) have been impressed by uplifted and faulted areas of rock. A couple
years ago I came across an excellent example of such a site just above
Sturtevant Falls in Arcadia. The falls themselves are quite spectacular by
Southern California standards. What most people don't realize is there is a
wonderful trail that leads to the top of the falls and further upstream. The top
of the falls pours over a large collection of granite rocks (which is why the
falls are there in the first place, since the rock does not erode quickly).
There is a stunning geological site just past the falls. Not only are the rock
layers uplifted, but they are highly faulted. A dark layer of granite can be
found splitting through the surrounding light layer. However, it is quite
discontinuous. The breaks are dramatic and the black layer is offset in at least
four places by a total of at least 15 feet. It you click on the image to the
right, you can see a higher resolution image. Click
here
for another look at the same layer, faulted even more further upstream. The breaks show that the
rock has experienced several very large earthquakes. The fact that it was first
uplifted and then faulted in a different direction makes it look really old -
certainly more than 6,000 years old.

Death Valley

Death Valley is just one of the most amazing parts of God's creation and it
ultimately motivated me enough to write this article. It is a must-see national
park. The geology of Death Valley is just spectacular. Your first question is
why it looks so eroded when it gets less than 2 inches of rain a year. The truth
is that Death Valley has been around for a very long time. At Badwater, the
lowest elevation in the U.S. at -282 feet, and other locations throughout Death
Valley, are found pre-Cambrian rocks (greater than 540 million years old). In
addition, following the last ice age, conditions weren't as dry, with Death
Valley being near the edge of retreating North American glaciers.

You will
also notice uplifted rock layers in the midst of horizontal sedimentary layers.
It is clear from the varied geology that Death Valley has experience a long
and complex geologic history. In many places within the mountains, one will
see an amazing assortment of rocks lying on the ground -everything from
igneous to sedimentary to polished metamorphic rocks, within a few feet of
each other.

However, the most dramatic geologic features of Death Valley are its
massive alluvial fans. Alluvial fans are formed when water carries dirt and
rocks downstream. In Death Valley, the material washes down steep canyons
before spreading out on the valley floor. At the base of virtually all Death
Valley mountains one can see these alluvial fans. In many instances,
alluvial fans from adjacent canyons run into one another. In some instances, they extend about a third the way
up the mountainside. The testimony of these alluvial fans declare Death
Valley to be very old, indeed.

Biblical glasses?

Some young earth creation websites say that to properly interpret what we
see in nature, we need to put on our "biblical glasses." However, what they
really want you to do is put on your young earth glasses. In fact, the book
of Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, declares the mountains to be
ancient.1 Nowhere does the Bible tells us to put on our "biblical glasses" to
examine the creation. In fact, it says the truth of creation can be "clearly
seen" from what God has made.2 No glasses necessary! Even the atheist is
without excuse for his disbelief because of what they can see in the creation2
(even without glasses!).

Conclusion

Does the earth look young? Parts of it do look young. However, it is only
necessary to show that parts of the earth are old, in order to falsify the young
earth hypothesis. I am convinced that those who think the earth looks young must
live in cities. Once one gets out into nature, there are plenty of examples of
the antiquity of the earth. Although young earth creationists say that one must
put on "biblical glasses," the Bible says that the reality of creation can be
"clearly seen" from what God has made. The earth looks old because it
is old. God thought humanity was worth the effort of investing billions
of years of His design to adequately prepare the earth for habitation by
spiritual being created in His image.

Other Resources

Dr. Ross looks the creation date controversy from a biblical,
historical, and scientific perspective. Most of the book deals with what
the Bible has to say about the days of creation. Ross concludes that
biblical models of creation should be tested through the whole of
scripture and the revelations of nature.

This book, written for Christians, examines creation paradigms
on the basis of what scripture says. Many Christians assume that the young earth
"perfect paradise" paradigm is based upon what the Bible says. In reality, the
"perfect paradise" paradigm fails in its lack of biblical support and also in
its underlying assumptions that it forces upon a "Christian" worldview. Under
the "perfect paradise" paradigm, God is relegated to the position of a poor
designer, whose plans for the perfect creation are ruined by the disobedience of
Adam and Eve. God is forced to come up with "plan B," in which He vindictively
creates weeds, disease, carnivorous animals, and death to get back at humanity
for their sin. Young earth creationists inadvertently buy into the atheistic
worldview that suffering could not have been the original intent of God, stating
that the earth was created "for our pleasure." However, the Bible says
that God created carnivores, and that the death of animals and plants was part
of God's original design for the earth.

References

Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient
mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the
head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. (Genesis
49:26)